Egyptians plan to give the former UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei a hero's welcome when he returns home for a visit on Friday, amid hopes that he might challenge the longtime president, Hosni Mubarak, for power. Dustor, a local opposition newspaper called on people to meet the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency at the airport.

"With the return of Mohamed ElBaradei, the number of freedom fighters in Egypt will increase," George Ishaq, co-founder of Kifaya, Egypt's main pro-democracy movement, wrote in the paper. Egypt has been ruled for nearly 30 years by Mubarak, who appears to be trying to set up a political dynasty by grooming his son to succeed him.

ElBaradei, who won the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize, could be the most credible opposition leader to emerge as the country prepares for elections next year.

The former Egyptian diplomat left his Vienna-based post as director general of the IAEA late last year, leaving a 12-year legacy as the public face of world diplomacy on keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of rogue states.

His supporters hope to use the publicity from his return to Egypt to boost speculation about his potential candidacy.

ElBaradei has been guarded about the possibility. In an open letter responding to an effort by young Egyptians urging him to run for president, he said he would only join the race if guaranteed that elections would be free, fully supervised by the judiciary and monitored by the international community.